WRU posts £18m loss for year to June 2026 and says four regions unsustainable

The Welsh Rugby Union reported an £18m loss for the financial year to June 2026 and said maintaining four professional regions was no longer sustainable, the union announced on 22 October 2026. The WRU also said it is already predicting a similar operating loss next year.

Turnover rose by £10m to £116.2m but the deficit worsened from a £7.2m loss the previous year, prompting chief financial and operating officer Gavin Marshall to describe the position as disappointing despite his claim five months earlier that the WRU's finances were in a "pretty good position." The union attributed the deterioration to rising energy and staffing costs, falling ticket sales and reduced fan spend and said the figures "back up its case that four professional regions are no longer sustainable." "We can't go on like this," said Marshall.

The WRU's audited annual report reclassified earlier results, showing the loss in 2023 as £14m up from £4.9m and the 2022 profit as £37.3m rather than £2.9m, and the union said the financial situation has continued to decline since that re-audit. When former WRU chair Richard Collier-Keywood and a new board took charge at the start of 2024, he admitted the finances were "a mess" and in an interview the following year said that "in January 2024 the WRU had run out of money - we were up against our overdraft limit."

The union took out an £18m Covid support loan from the Welsh government in 2022 and subsequently appealed for improved terms, and in January 2026 agreed a £55m debt-refinancing package via banks HSBC and Goldman Sachs intended to pay off the Welsh government loan and a separate commercial loan. The accounts show the WRU paid out £1.9m to departing employees and has kept Cardiff afloat since taking over the struggling region in April 2025.

The WRU said it faces substantial fixed costs — "including the stadium [£26m], the national teams [£20m], interest on our loan [£3m], funding community rugby [£4m]," said Marshall — leaving only about £20m to invest in professional rugby while it is currently funding £26m across the four clubs. "From a financial perspective, we just can't afford that," he added. Ospreys and Scarlets, the two regions cited as under threat by the proposed restructure, have been approached for comment, and the official accounts for the past financial year are expected to be lodged with Companies House on Friday after already being shared with clubs.

The men's national team remains the single biggest revenue driver, contributing almost half the WRU's income, but home crowds and spending have fallen. Wales drew their smallest Six Nations crowd in Cardiff when 57,744 watched a 54-12 defeat by France in February, and a team that had been on a record losing run under Steve Tandy until March coincided with softer match income despite an extra two men's internationals compared with the previous year. "We hosted seven men's internationals compared with five the previous year but match income increased by only £2m," said Marshall, citing lower average ticket prices, some lower attendances and weaker consumer spending; the WRU said it has broadened ticket price categories from three to six.

Cardiff reported a £1.2m loss in the year after the WRU took over the region in April 2025; a proposed sale to Ospreys owners Y11 Sport & Media later collapsed and Marshall confirmed Cardiff "will be put up for sale again, though not until the current shake-up is complete." He warned that could mean holding on to the club "until at least 2028." "The strategy is not to own Cardiff but we decided that while we are in this restructure and level of uncertainty, it's a tough environment to sell a club," he said. "When there's certainty for Welsh rugby, that will enable us to find the right buyer and right value for the Cardiff."

The WRU said it aims to boost non-rugby events at the Principality Stadium and noted concerts produce modest, low-risk revenue because promoters pay rent while the union earns food and drink sales, but rising costs and new competition from a 16,500-capacity music arena under construction in Cardiff Bay are challenges. The stadium hosted the Community Shield in August, will stage the world heavyweight boxing bout between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in December and will host summer concerts by Andrea Bocelli and Sam Fender, while Kanye West, previously set for two nights at the stadium, was refused entry to the UK; Marshall confirmed there are no immediate plans for the regional derby event Judgement Day to return to the stadium. The WRU also received £9.6m from the sale of a portion of United Rugby Championship shares to CVC Capital Partners, a one-off sum the union said will offset reduced annual participation payments to Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets, and it pointed to a profit at the Parkgate Hotel it owns in Cardiff.

The WRU said the latest figures will be examined by member clubs at next month's annual general meeting and has already warned of an operating loss of £16m for the coming year. "Our responsibility is to build a financially stronger organisation capable of supporting the game at every level," added Marshall.